


Words Don't Come Easy

by aurics



Category: NU'EST, Produce 101 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Library, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-29 01:42:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11430546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aurics/pseuds/aurics
Summary: It's about time Jonghyun asks the cute regular out before he gets beaten to it.





	Words Don't Come Easy

**Author's Note:**

> nobody asked for a coffee shop/library au nyeonbugi dripping with overdone cliches but this was written for my trash sister you better love me til the end of time xo
> 
> thank you as always to [icebaby](http://archiveofourown.org/users/icebaby) for being the rational one in our friendship!!!!

Fifteen minutes of his evening shift still remain, but Jonghyun has to quickly duck behind Minki and make a beeline for the staff room when he sees the customer joining the end of their surprisingly short queue.

"I'm leaving," he says flatly to an exasperated Minki, who grabs him by the shirt and drags him back to his spot at the counter.

"Like hell you are," the blonde boy shoots back. "I'm not about to man the cashier _and_ make coffee at the same time, not even a single cup. You're stuck here until Dongho decides to show up."

"Please, Minki —"

“No. And you can save the begging because it won’t work."

That's how Jonghyun finds himself dumbstruck once again as the customer he’s been dreading saunters up to the cashier. The student with the turtleneck sweater.

Calling him a ‘student’ seems ill-fitting when the man looks like he belongs on the glossy front cover of magazines or in a storybook as a young prince, impeccable in appearance and voice so soft when he exchanges greetings with Minki. His eyes crinkle into pleasant curves when he smiles, and they’re absent of the dullness Jonghyun often sees as a student himself who’s barely managing his studies and a part-time job at one of the campus’ many coffee shops. There’s not a single crease in his black turtleneck and the man looks awfully put together, as if he’s about to deliver a speech in front of the whole nation when Jonghyun knows he’s only there to study, and will spend the next couple of hours buried behind a textbook or his laptop just as he always has for the last two weeks. Now he’s eyeing the menu behind Minki's head like he's about to order anything other than his usual, _one vanilla crea —_

"Jonghyun. _Jonghyun."_

He snaps out of his daze to see the student giving him an amused smile and Minki looking absolutely exasperated, hand on his hip.

"One vanilla cream frappe? Please?"

"Of course, yes. Sorry about that.” Finally regaining control over his limbs, Jonghyun pushes himself off the counter with an apologetic grimace.

Under normal circumstances, Jonghyun is someone with an unwavering ability to focus, so it’s a little grating to find himself distracted _again_ by a variable in his mundane routine in the form of an extremely attractive customer. Either he’ll have to learn to live with it, or find a solution to this glitch in his otherwise ordinary day-to-day routine.

Orders start piling up, so Jonghyun hastily finishes the drink with a quick wipe around the plastic cup that’s already gathering condensation and places it on the counter along with a straw.

"Here you go. Enjoy your drink.”

“Thanks, Jonghyun.” The student says, reading his name tag. Then he tilts his head at an angle he must know is attractive and leaves behind a smile that Jonghyun greedily stows away to the brightest corner of his mind.

It takes all of his strength not to swoon like a highschool boy in love.

 

*

 

"So who's the kid?"

Trust Minki to be a perceptive nosey prick, though to be fair Jonghyun's pining has gone unnoticed by him for over two weeks now — this he considers to be an achievement.

"A regular. Don't you get his name for his orders?” Jonghyun replies as he wipes the tables. In the end, Dongho has called in sick with the promise of covering all of Jonghyun's shifts next week, so unfortunately he's stuck with both closing-up duties and Minki's relentless probing.

“Really? This is how you’re going to extort his name out of me?” Minki snorts, counting up the cash and placing them back into the register. “Try again."

“I know his name already,” retorts Jonghyun. “I’ve been at the cashier before so I’ve asked him.” When Minki narrows his eyes suspiciously, Jonghyun sighs and says, purposefully slow, " _To write on his cup,_  you know.”

“And?”

“His name is Minhyun."

“Okay, you know his name. Why don’t you ask him out?"

“You make it sound so easy."

Minki closes the cash register. “Because it is?"

Jonghyun smiles demurely at his apron. “I will, I swear, I just need to find the right words and the right time."

Minki throws his hands up in the air. “What better time than when you’re working and _serving him coffee?_ You can write your number on his cup or the back of his receipt, leave him a flirty message or something."

“It doesn’t feel natural that way,” Jonghyun sinks into a chair, picking at his nails. “It’s so _aggressive,_ like I’m hitting on him.”

“But that’s exactly what you’re doing and there’s no shame in that.” Taking up the role of his own personal counsellor, Minki pulls a chair up in front of Jonghyun and clasps his hands together. “You’re a healthy 22-year-old man who happens to be pretty cute."

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Jonghyun smiles. “But I’ll take my time with this one."

Minki shrugs. “Suit yourself, but listen to me when I say there isn’t really a need for you to."

 

*

 

There’s a bulletin board near the entrance where the café used to post notices before digital screens became popular. Now that they’ve got those to display the ads, the owner has decided to get a few pins and sheets of paper for customers to leave messages on. It’s a cute feature and has since become a sort of selling point amongst campus frequenters. Once or twice it attracts a wide array of messages ranging from funny, sweet, rude (these ones Minki has to quickly rip away) and most commonly, informative: date, time and location for club meetings or even open house parties. Sometimes, as he’s waiting indoors for the bus home, Jonghyun would read them, picking out interesting messages and taking pictures of the sillier ones.

Lately, there’s been a series of short paragraphs written on pastel-coloured paper or post-its signed off with, at first, _HM,_ and later _Hwang Minhyun._ These small paragraphs are rich, beautifully composed and when Jonghyun reads them out there’s almost a musical quality to them, like lyrics or poems – he guesses they must be the latter. These poems talk about the heart, nature, but mostly love. And when Jonghyun has finally been able to put a face to the poems, he can imagine it so well – Minhyun by the window of the café in the late afternoon, deep in thought as he looks out at the busy street, clutching a worn-out notebook in his hand and thinking about a hypothetical loved one that has so often become his muse.

It’s all Jonghyun can think about as he tucks chairs in absent-mindedly when the lunch rush has finally tapered off to a slower tempo, only a handful of customers – including Minhyun – left in the café now. He toes between the options of approaching Minhyun for a conversation and leaving him alone to brew in his own thoughts, but as he steals another glance he realises there’s really no competition between the two choices. All by himself Minhyun is picturesque; a paradigm of perfection and serenity that Jonghyun doesn’t dare shatter. The sight alone brings a smile to Jonghyun’s face that remains intact even as Minhyun leaves his table, stops by the entrance to stick another pink post-it.

(Jonghyun reads the new addition later, and decides it’s his favourite poem so far.)

 

*

 

"Excuse me."

It's the afternoon shift on a Friday, which means Jonghyun is manning the cashier while the café is teeming with students rushing last-minute assignments. But apparently it also means Minhyun showing up out of the blue and throwing Jonghyun’s bearings out of whack.

He’s usually nowhere to be seen on a Friday – yet here he is, sporting a soft beige turtleneck and a lopsided smile on his face, looking a little embarrassed and a lot delectable in Jonghyun's eyes.

"Sorry for troubling you," he says, voice saccharine and his expression capable of melting the iciest of hearts. "All the tables with an outlet are full, so I was wondering if there's one I could use here, somewhere." He waves his laptop and charger slightly in the air. "I kind of need to finish writing something."

"Oh, uh," Jonghyun blinks. He surveys the shop, where every chair is occupied and charger wires wind around the room like a maze. He really doesn't want to turn Minhyun away, but it seems like he has no choice. "I'm really sorry, but you might have to —"

"Here, use this one." Minki unplugs one of the blenders on their workstation. “Most drinks are already served and we’re not about to get an influx of customers anytime soon. We can live with one blender."

“That’s great. Thanks!”

“ _You’re welcome,_ ” Minki hisses on his way back to the cashier as Jonghyun sends him a look, half grateful and half pleading for help.

And that's how Minhyun ends up monopolising the pick-up counter with his laptop and two oversized textbooks. For the most part, customers don’t give him a second glance, either unbothered about the situation or too tired to even register the strange sight. Jonghyun hands their drinks with an apologetic smile each time anyway, just to make sure.

But _god_ is it distracting, having Minhyun sit there only a few metres away from him — which is pathetic because Minhyun himself looks nothing less than completely focused on his task. The stream of new customers quickly dies down and it leaves Jonghyun with ample time to look around the shop. Try as he might, his gaze always gravitates back to Minhyun’s form sitting primly at the counter, perched on the bar stool they’ve dragged from the staff rest room, an act which has made the student bow endlessly in thanks.

Minhyun keeps running a hand through his hair with a frustrated sigh, biting his lip in annoyance and Jonghyun thinks, pathetically, of how nice it would be to rub the space between Minhyun's eyebrows and smooth the creases out, to bring that gentle smile back on his face. Before he realises what he’s doing, Jonghyun is already concocting a vanilla cream frappe with extra whipped cream and placing it in front of Minhyun.

He feels as surprised at himself as Minhyun looks but he tries his best to hide it, wiping his hands with the hand towel he keeps near the counter.

“Sorry, I didn’t order this."

Jonghyun gives Minhyun what he hopes is a charming enough smile to pass the gesture off as him being friendly and not a meddling creep. “I know. Just thought you needed a bit of a pick-me-up ‘cause that looks tough,” he tilts his head towards Minhyun’s laptop. Minhyun gives him a sheepish smile.

“There’s just a small part of my thesis giving me a bit of trouble. My supervisor wants the edits done by tomorrow but it’s not like it only takes fifteen minutes to compose a chapter entirely again, with new books to cite, books I haven’t even _read_ —“ Minhyun catches himself. “Ah, sorry, I don’t mean to sound whiny."

“Not in the least.” Truthfully, Jonghyun is lapping up this new information greedily and is quietly curious for more. "Are you in the humanities department, by any chance?"

“Classical Literature. You?"

“Ah.” That makes sense. “Computer science."

“Maths enthusiast I take it?"

“Not really,” Jonghyun chuckles, mildly surprised that Minhyun knows more about his major beyond ‘making codes and fixing bugs'. “I was really into games as a kid, but didn’t really feel like getting into something as specific as game development. So here I am."

“That’s really cool."

Jonghyun debates whether to bring it up or not, but he decides there’s no harm in doing so. “I’ve been reading some short poems left on the bulletin boards. They’re yours right?”

Minhyun actually looks surprised, but evidently pleased. “Wow, someone actually reads them."

“They’re really good,” Jonghyun tries not to sound like he’s gushing. “I don’t know much about Literature but… they sound beautiful."

Just then the door opens and in walks Aron, the graduate student who’s taking over after Jonghyun’s shift ends. He frowns, glancing at his watch.

“Hey,” he greets Aron. “You’re kind of early."

“Yeah, seminar ended sooner than expected and I didn’t feel like stopping by my place. Nice day, isn’t it?” Aron tilts his head in the direction of the entrance. “I’ll take over your shift now, so you’re free to go. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon."

“Oh — uh,” he steals a quick glance at Minhyun, who’s already turning back to his laptop. He sighs. “Yeah, alright, I will. Thanks."

There’s reluctance in Jonghyun’s step as he returns to the storage room even though he knows nothing will come out of him staying an extra quarter of an hour anyway. He sets about hanging his apron and shrugging on a jacket as he tries to placate himself – whatever he’s pursuing isn’t something that can happen in an instant, after all. But Jonghyun still thinks, a little childishly, that he’ll be content to keep going on like this forever: keeping their interactions to casual conversations and unattached acts of kindness.

Does he _actually_ want to ask Minhyun out anyway? Minki says there’s nothing to worry about but of course there’s always that chance of rejection, however slight. Jonghyun can already imagine it — the gentle way Minhyun will turn him down, constructing his sentences so he’ll reassure Jonghyun they could be _good friends instead_ , whatever that might mean.

To his surprise, when he emerges in his casual clothes Minhyun has already packed his belongings. He glances at Minhyun’s bag. “Finishing up already?"

“Yeah. Actually managed to get a few revisions done for my supervisor, so I’m heading back to campus to meet and go over some points with him."

“Oh. I’ve got class soon so I’ll be walking to campus too."

Minhyun smiles in reply, the one that, in Jonghyun's eyes, puts the sun to shame and the stars to relinquish their shine at night. “Mind if I walk with you then?”

 _Of course not, please do,_ Jonghyun wants to blurt out, but he goes for a grin and a neutral _not at all_ instead.

“Oh, before I forget, please let me pay for that drink." Minhyun starts rummaging in his pocket but Jonghyun puts a hand out to stop him, shaking his head with vehemence.

“No, no way. It’s on me. _I insist_ ,” he adds when Minhyun frowns at him.

“Okay,” Minhyun relents after a while. “But it’s my turn next time."

There’s no denying the thrill that runs up from Jonghyun’s toes to his head, the words _next time_ ringing ceaselessly.

It’s the perfect time to ask Minhyun out; even Jonghyun is aware of this. Their walk is mostly silent save for small talk about class, club activities, restaurants in the vicinity and their (surprisingly many) mutual friends. Jonghyun mentions some of his favourite games while Minhyun rattles off some of his favourite titles and authors, names that fly past Jonghyun’s head and he finds impossible to pronounce. Maybe Jonghyun is imagining it, but there’s a thrum of anticipation around them whenever their conversations lull to an end. _He asked if he could walk with you_ , Jonghyun tells himself. _He must be kind of interested too, right? But what if it’s purely out of convenience since we’re walking in the same direction?_

All too soon they’re back in the campus quad again and staring at each other awkwardly, not knowing how to part and Jonghyun feels awfully like he's letting a golden opportunity slip right past him, more so when Minhyun eventually smiles and gives him a small wave.

“Well, here we are." Minhyun is backing away, _for god’s sake just do it Kim Jonghyun –_ “Guess I'll see you around –"

“Wait."

Minhyun actually stops, but the words die in Jonghyun’s throat when he meets Minhyun’s eyes, so captivating that he wants to fall into them and run away from them at the same time.

“Um. Yeah. See you around," he says instead.

Minhyun’s smile stays put, slightly strained, tight-lipped and not really reaching his eyes. He must be slightly peeved that Jonghyun’s keeping him back from meeting his supervisor, and Jonghyun feels apologetic all over again. But Minhyun nods and walks away before Jonghyun can stutter out an apology.

 

*

 

Dongho has finally recovered and despite his protests, Jonghyun’s been granted a whole week of spare time in exchange for covering most of his shifts. It’s a little strange having his schedule so free especially when Jonghyun thinks he hasn’t exactly deserved it (he was just helping a friend out, after all) but it’s a welcome change nonetheless.

On his second to last day off, he thinks of going grocery shopping or maybe to the nearby park to pet some cats – but as he’s throwing out old assignments from his shelves he realises he hasn’t set aside much time to read his favourite manga series. And being a comic book snob means Jonghyun won’t settle for illegally scanned pages on the Internet, so he soon finds himself in the campus library getting lost between the maze of shelves.

Really, no one can blame Jonghyun for the apparent giddiness on his face as he walks up to the checkout counter with new comics in hand. This stack of six will probably last him a mere week, maybe less if the coffee shop is slower than usual, but knowing that the university's finally stocked up on some important cornerstones of art and literature Jonghyun thinks it'll be fine to start moderately. He’s got the entire year – and maybe even longer – to peruse the entire collection anyway.

"Your student card, please?"

Jonghyun starts, nearly dropping his wallet. He knows that voice. His head snaps up and Minhyun is staring back at him, equally surprised, and Jonghyun can’t help the gaze that gravitates towards Minhyun’s bare neck. He’s in a T-shirt for once.

“Hey! Long time no see. How are you doing?” greets Minhyun easily as Jonghyun passes him his card.

“I’m okay. You?” he replies lamely.

“Not that great, honestly.” Minhyun’s gaze on Jonghyun, while friendly, is so steadfast that the latter has to break eye contact, staring at the white surface of the check-out counter. “You haven’t been coming to work and I was – well, I was getting worried, to be honest. I asked your friend Minki, but he said he wasn’t sure either and left me with your number instead.”

So many things happen at once that Jonghyun doesn’t know where to start sorting out his thoughts; Minhyun was worried? Minhyun asked Minki _about him?_ It’s so like Minki to make it impossible to be any more obvious.

But Jonghyun’s mind stubbornly latches on to the fact that Minhyun’s been thinking about him as he buys afternoon coffee, has admitted to being worried about Jonghyun’s absence and just knowing he’s been on Minhyun’s mind sends a burst of courage through Jonghyun’s being, so he does what he normally tries so hard to resist: he acts impulsively.

“Then why haven’t you tried calling?”

It clearly isn’t the response Minhyun was expecting and he seems taken aback, staring at Jonghyun with his mouth slightly agape. Then he lets out a breathless chuckle, the mirth in his eyes making Jonghyun’s chest inflate with pride.

“I didn’t want to intrude. You might have had something important going on.”

“Even so, I wouldn’t have minded.”

Minhyun gives him an indecipherable look and an equally cryptic smile. “Noted, then.” He reads off the student card Jonghyun hands him. “ _Kim_ Jonghyun. So that's your last name."

Instinctively, Jonghyun slams a hand over his card. "Please don't look at the picture," he stutters. "It's – embarrassing."

"You look perfectly fine,” Minhyun laughs. He reads the titles from Jonghyun's stack of borrowed books and his eyebrows arch beautifully in a way that betrays his amusement – oh god, Jonghyun feels ready to bolt. Here he is a man who reads Nietzsche and Machiavelli for fun, who composes poetry by the afternoon sun at the coffee shop looking like a million-dollar painting, and he’s discovering Jonghyun’s hidden penchant for _comic books._

“Good choice,” Minhyun says sincerely, much to Jonghyun’s surprise. “Some of these have super complex storylines, don’t you think?"

“Haha, yeah…” he responds weakly, and then, eager to change the subject, he adds, "I didn’t know you worked here.” Minhyun shakes his head.

“I don’t. I just like helping out around here whenever I’m free. I get unlimited access that way."

Somehow it’s so _like_ Minhyun to be here when he doesn’t really need to be, just to have some time to himself and his interests and unlimited access to books. The thought is so endearing Jonghyun unconsciously chuckles to himself, which for some odd reason seems to please Minhyun.

"There's that anime movie screening in the cinemas right now. _My Name_?" Minhyun gives him a curious glance as he scans another book. "Heard of it?"

"Yeah, I have. Haven’t had time to watch it, though."

Finally done swiping Jonghyun’s card, Minhyun rests his arms on the stack of books. “Great, because I thought it would be nice for us to go together."

Jonghyun's hand stills, hovering over the card handed to him. “Oh. Um.” _Play it cool, Jonghyun_. "Is this to repay me for that free coffee?"

Minhyun breaks into his signature laugh, so melodic and mild it sounds diplomatic without coming off as impersonal. It’s warm, very warm.

“Partly, yes. But I was hoping it could be more than just a thank you. Maybe we could — it could also be a date. Kind of.” Minhyun licks his lips and that’s another awfully distracting habit to add to the list. “Does that sound okay?"

Jonghyun stays frozen at his spot, his heart beating a mile a minute and his brain at risk of running into overdrive. It’s not supposed to be this easy, is it?

In a moment of confusion, Jonghyun peers around him but the only people in their vicinity are a couple of students rooted to their laptops with earphones plugged in — there’s no mistake. Hwang Minhyun has really just asked him out. He turns back to Minhyun who’s waiting for a reply patiently, his gaze expectant.

“Yeah, of course it’s okay,” Jonghyun lets out in one breath. “That sounds really good."

After what seems like eons of staring at each other stupidly, Minhyun leans back and — is that a sigh of relief Jonghyun hears?

“Can I get your number?” he blurts out, and thinks it’s the best impulsive question he’s asked because the smile on Minhyun’s face grows impossibly big.

“Finally."

 

*

 

Jonghyun is trying not to hope too much. He’s just wishing for the bare minimum: that he won’t mess this up, that Minhyun won’t suddenly realise he’s made a mistake and rescind his interest, because at the moment Jonghyun is doing a piss poor job of not staring at Minhyun’s fitted dress shirt and tight jeans. He’s doing even worse at attempting to focus on the movie, but somehow through all his blunders – he nearly spills the coke _and_ popcorn on Minhyun’s lap – Jonghyun still finds himself holding hands with Minhyun by the time they walk out of the cinema, the latter looking all too pleased with the way the night is turning out.

Everything feels too good to be true, Jonghyun thinks.

It only gets better when they decide to stop by a dessert bar on the way back to the students’ residence, where the pair ends up sitting across each other with a giant bowl of shaved ice between them and playful gazes lingering in their eyes. The combined sweetness of the syrup on Jonghyun’s tongue and the cheesy game of footsie Minhyun initiates under the table is enough to dispel most of the tension from his system.

“You know,” Minhyun starts after his fifth spoonful of shaved ice. “I didn’t call you because I chickened out. I was way too nervous.”

“You, nervous?” The thought of a fumbling, mumbling Minhyun somehow does not register in Jonghyun’s mind, but it makes him blush all the same. “Because of me?"

“I’m not normally a pessimistic person but honestly I couldn’t stop worrying when… well, when anything involved you.” Minhyun grins. “That’s when you know you really care about someone, I guess.”

Jonghyun is certain it’s impossible for him to be any more infatuated with someone or for his heart to feel any fuller. But he realises how completely, utterly wrong he is when Minhyun cups his face gently and leans in for a kiss, right there on Jonghyun’s doorsteps. And when Jonghyun meets him halfway, he lets himself hope against all odds that this can be something that lasts forever.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This fic has been translated into Vietnamese by the very kind YT [here!](https://nguyenuocemsetrao.wordpress.com/2017/09/14/transfic-one-shot-nhung-loi-kho-noi-words-dont-come-easy/) ♥ Thank you!


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